Chapter 143: It's That Armguard That's So Powerful—In the End, It's Just Borrowing External Power
The pitch-black night sky was weighed down by dark clouds, completely covering the original moon.
But now, a new moon had appeared—Lü Xinyue. This "new moon" briefly replaced the original one, casting its light across the vast Baishi City, illuminating it as if it were broad daylight!
The cultivators were all stunned, staring at the moon in awe.
Ordinary people, on the other hand, knelt down in reverence, bowing in worship.
To them, wasn't this a divine act?
"One drop of Ice Dragon blood isn't enough? Then two. Two isn't enough? Then three."
Shen Mo's gaze remained calm.
"Transform yourself into the moon? Let me shatter your moon!"
Buzz, buzz, buzz!
He clenched his hand fiercely, and the blood sacs once again burst.
This time, three blood sacs burst in succession.
Nine full drops of Ice Dragon blood merged into the demon armor.
Sizzle!
The demon armor swiftly transformed, once again changing from its purple-black form into an icy, spiked shape.
Then, Shen Mo slowly gathered his strength.
As Lü Xinyue's attack was about to descend, he struck out with a powerful punch!
Boom!
The explosion roared across the sky.
Blinding light shot out.
The curious mortals, who had dared to look up at the sky to witness the battle between the two Core Formation stage cultivators, were instantly caught in the aftermath of the attack.
The piercing light nearly blinded them.
Blood streamed from their eyes!
The lower-level cultivators fared slightly better, only suffering from temporary blindness.
But the intense pain in their eyes still caused them to writhe on the ground in agony.
Liu Menghu and Yang Tianxing also squinted, not daring to look directly at the blinding light.
The light lasted for a while before gradually dimming.
The ancestors of White River Sect hurriedly looked toward the battlefield.
Then, their expressions froze.
Not just them, but everyone else too—eyes wide in disbelief at what they were witnessing.
In midair, the fist of the masked man with fire patterns had pierced through Lü Xinyue's towering chest.
This was no optical illusion.
There was only one explanation.
The masked man's punch had pierced Lü Xinyue's body!
"The White River Sect needs a new sect master."
Shen Mo glanced around, only to be met with looks of utter shock.
Casually, he reached out and grabbed Lü Xinyue's storage ring.
After saying this, he activated the Eight Directions Thunder Movement technique, stepping on Lü Xinyue's corpse as he sped off into the distance.
In the blink of an eye, he was dozens of meters away.
The ancestor of White River Sect was furious but couldn't let Lü Xinyue's corpse fall to the ground and shatter into pieces.
He had no choice but to abandon the chase, rushing over to catch Lü Xinyue's body.
"No matter who you are, I will kill you! I swear, I'll kill you!"
Cradling the lifeless sect master of White River Sect, the ancestor roared into the sky, like an old lion unleashing a furious roar.
Yang Tianxing and Liu Menghu watched the fire-patterned masked man disappear into the distance, then looked at Lü Xinyue's rapidly cooling corpse.
They exchanged glances, both seeing the terror in each other's eyes.
If that man could kill Lü Xinyue, he could kill them just as easily.
Fortunately, they hadn't rushed in like Lü Xinyue, trying to stop him.
Otherwise, they would have been the ones lying on the ground right now!
On the ground and rooftops, the rogue cultivators were wide-eyed.
Lü Xinyue, a cultivator at the peak of the Core Formation stage and the sect master of a prestigious sect, now lay lifeless on the ground like a dead dog.
This scene deeply shocked all the cultivators present.
"That fire-patterned masked man is just a rogue cultivator, yet he can take on sect cultivators head-on, killing two Great Accomplishment Core Formation cultivators with one punch, and now he's killed Lü Xinyue too!"
"Can rogue cultivators be this powerful? My god!"
"He's too strong. I wish I could be his disciple!"
One of the cultivators suddenly sneered, "Hmph, I think it's just that strange armguard of his. In the end, isn't he just relying on external objects?"
The surrounding cultivators immediately burst into mocking laughter. "Oh, you think you're so pure and righteous, huh? Next time, don't use pills, don't use spiritual weapons, and definitely don't use any formations. Actually, why don't you stop absorbing spiritual energy too? That's external power as well."
The cultivator's face flushed red, veins bulging on his forehead, as he argued, "How can absorbing spiritual energy be considered using external objects?"
What followed was a heated debate about whether "cultivators should live in poverty" and whether "wealth, companions, methods, and land" counted as external aids, which drew laughter from those nearby.
Of course, while most of the cultivators were still engrossed in this spectacle, a few sharp-minded individuals had quietly slipped away, heading toward White River Sect's properties in Baishi City.
Now that Lü Xinyue was dead, White River Sect was without a leader, and it would likely take at least a month or two for a new sect master to be appointed amidst the inevitable internal struggles.
During this time, White River Sect's properties would inevitably be left vulnerable.
It was the perfect opportunity for rogue cultivators to take advantage of the chaos.
The news of the fire-patterned masked man, the demon-armored gauntlet, and Lü Xinyue's death quickly spread from Baishi City.
...
Meanwhile.
Shen Mo relentlessly used his Eight Directions Thunder Movement technique, advancing at high speed, easily leaving behind the cultivators who had their own schemes.
After confirming that no one was following him, he casually found a cave between the mountains.
After driving out the cave's original owner, a black bear, and using a gust of wind to sweep away the foul stench, he finally sat down cross-legged.
"The sect master of a prestigious sect, a cultivator at the peak of Core Formation, was indeed no ordinary foe."
"It took nine drops of Ice Dragon blood to utterly crush him."
"If I had been more greedy and only used two blood sacs, consuming six drops of Ice Dragon blood, I would have barely managed a draw."
"In that case, the attack from the ancestor of White River Sect would have immediately followed, and I would have been trapped in their encirclement."
Shen Mo exhaled deeply.
When it was time to be ruthless, one had to be ruthless enough.
The Ice Dragon blood, as a consumable, had to be used when necessary. There was no point in being stingy.
"This time, I used up over ten drops of Ice Dragon blood, but the rewards were well worth it."
"First, I obtained the Thousand Miles Fragrance and its essence."
"Second, I killed Lü Xinyue, the sect master of White River Sect, eliminating the last pillar of Heavenly Water Sect."
"Third, I obtained Lü Xinyue's storage ring."
Shen Mo waved his hand, and Lü Xinyue's storage ring appeared in his palm.
"I hope the storage ring of a sect master will give me some pleasant surprises."
He peeked inside and instantly widened his eyes.
The storage ring contained a massive quantity of spirit stones.
There were spirit stones of all grades, from low-grade to high-grade.
There were no less than three thousand high-grade spirit stones.
These were clearly Lü Xinyue's personal stash for his own use, not the full wealth of White River Sect.
Aside from the spirit stones, there were also several profound-grade spiritual weapons.
These spiritual weapons were mediocre; any other cultivator would be overjoyed to obtain them, but to Shen Mo, they were just average.
However, two treasures preserved in jade boxes caught his interest.
Through the transparent jade boxes, Shen Mo could clearly see the appearance of the two treasures.
One was a plant resembling a deer antler.
The other was a claw that looked like a tiger's, with a drop of golden-yellow beast blood oozing from beside it.
"Deer Antler Root? This is also one of the treasures used to nurture the Nine-layered Lotus Throne. Perfect, I'll take it."
"As for this beast claw..."
Even though he hadn't opened the jade box, he could feel the subtle yet powerful threat emanating from the claw.
He tried opening the jade box.
As soon as he cracked it open, a ferocious roar echoed out.
The cave where Shen Mo sat seemed to tremble.
He quickly closed the jade box, a wide grin spreading across his face.
He was certain that this claw must have come from a sixth-tier demon beast.
Perhaps because it was more recent, the life force left in the blood was still strong.
Its suppressive power was far fiercer than the Ice Dragon blood.
This also meant that if he fed it to his demon armor, the resulting power would far surpass that of the Ice Dragon blood!
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